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Speech of Roman Envoys At Carthage

THE Carthaginians having seized the transports as prizes

Some transports under Cn. Octavius wrecked in the Bay of Carthage, and taken
possession of by the Carthaginians in spite of the truce. Autumn of B.C. 203. See Livy, 30, 24.

of war, and with them an extraordinary quantity
of provisions, Scipio was extremely enraged,
not so much at the loss of the provisions, as by
the fact that the enemy had thereby obtained
vast supply of necessaries; and still more at
the Carthaginians having violated the sworn
articles of truce, and commenced the war
He therefore at once selected Lucius
Sergius, Lucius Baebius, and Lucius Fabius to
go to Carthage, to remonstrate on what had taken place, and
at the same time to announce that the Roman people had
ratified the treaty; for he had lately received a despatch from
home to that effect. Upon their arrival in Carthage these
envoys first had an audience of the Senate, and then were
introduced to a meeting of the people.

Speech of the Roman envoys

On both occasions
they spoke with great freedom on the situation
of affairs, reminding their hearers that "Their
ambassadors who had come to the Roman
camp at Tunes, on being admitted to the council of officers,
had not been content with appealing to the gods and
kissing the ground, as other people do, but had thrown
themselves upon the earth, and in abject humiliation
had kissed the feet of the assembled officers; and then, rising
from the ground, had reproached themselves for breaking the
existing treaty between the Romans and Carthaginians, and
acknowledged that they deserved every severity at the hands
of the Romans; but intreated to be spared the last severities,
from a regard to the vicissitudes of human fortune, for their
folly would be the means of displaying the generosity of the
Romans. Remembering all this, the general and the officers
then present in the council were at a loss to understand what
had encouraged them to forget what they then said, and to
venture to break their sworn articles of agreement.

Hannibal leaves Italy, 23d June, B.C. 203.

Plainly it
was this—they trusted in Hannibal and the
forces that had arrived with him. But they
were very ill advised. All the world knew
that he and his army had been driven these two years past
from every port of Italy, and had retreated into the neighbourhood of the Lacinian promontory, where they had been so
closely shut up and almost besieged, that they had barely
been able to get safe away home. Not that, even if they
had come back," he added, "as conquerors, and were minded
to engage us who have already defeated you in two consecutive battles, ought you to entertain any doubt as to the
result, or to speculate on the chance of victory. The certainty
of defeat were a better subject for your reflections: and when
that takes place, what are the gods that you will summon to
your aid? And what arguments will you use to move the pity
of the victors for your misfortunes? You must needs expect
to be debarred from all hope of mercy from gods and men
alike by your perfidy and folly."

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